You can be on Entrepreneur’s cover!

Do You Know the Best Way to Grow Your Business? Once your business launches, it's time to grow. But it's important to grow smart. Here's a look at why the Shark Tank investors passed on one great company after taking a look at its growth plan.

By Carol Tice

entrepreneur daily

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Do You Know the Best Way to Grow Your Business

Growing a business can be almost as tricky as getting the enterprise off the ground. These growing pains came to mind as I watched this past week's episode of ABC's reality show Shark Tank.

The first entrepreneur up to pitch the sharks was Nick Romero, the owner of The Ave, a small business on the beach in Venice, Calif., that offers shoppers a unique way to screen-print any image onto a pair of shoes. The idea was a smash hit with trendy beachgoers, with lines out the door since it opened last April. The Ave, a store of less than 500 square feet, saw first-year sales top $500,000 and had more than $100,000 of profit.

This is the sort of story the Sharks usually drool over -- a proven success with both sales and profits, as well as products that are flat-out cool. I thought they'd be fighting each other over a chance to get a piece of The Ave's future revenue. But in the end, the Sharks all passed on helping the owner open more stores.

Why? The owner wanted to focus on creating a retail chain, but the Sharks didn't think that was the best strategy for growth. Those lines out the door turned out to be the result of machines needing 30 minutes to create each set of custom shoes. Retail shoppers hate having to wait around.

Related: Six Keys to Boost Your Business in 2012

The Sharks thought Ecommerce would be the best model for The Ave's expansion because it allows people to order shoes from all over the world without having to wait around a store. Shark Robert Herjavec suggested that licensing the company's printing machine to other retailers could be another cash cow for The Ave, but again Romero wasn't interested in that option.

In the end, it was Romero's lack of vision about growth strategy that came up empty with the Sharks, but the exposure he garnered by appearing on the show may help him attract other investors.

(By the way, if you fantasize about getting your pitch in front of the Sharks, the show is casting for next season right now.)

What steps will you take to grow your business this year? Leave a comment and tell us your strategy.

Related: Five Signs an E-tailer Is Ready to Open a Storefront

Carol Tice

Owner of Make a Living Writing

Longtime Seattle business writer Carol Tice has written for Entrepreneur, Forbes, Delta Sky and many more. She writes the award-winning Make a Living Writing blog. Her new ebook for Oberlo is Crowdfunding for Entrepreneurs.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Business News

This Highly-Debated Piece of Cinematic History Just Sold For Over $700,000 at Auction

The wood panel from "Titanic" is often mistaken as a door. Either way, he couldn't have fit. (Sorry.)

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Business News

From Tom Brady to Kevin O'Leary – See Who Lost Big in the Wake of the FTX Crypto Collapse

The crash exposed an $8 billion hole in FTX's accounts, leaving investors and customers scrambling to recoup their funds.

Money & Finance

5 Simple Wealth-Building Tips For This Generation's Forward-Thinkers

Explore practical finance tips for young professionals striving to overcome economic challenges.